Unfair Prestige, DePaul’s Master of Science in Taxation is Honored, and More – Chicago News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from Chicago business schools this week.
Juries Treat Prestigious Companies Differently in Employment Discrimination Suits – Kellogg Insight
New research from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management professor of management and organizations Brayden King finds that organizations are often treated very differently when it comes to certain lawsuits, often depending upon the prestige of the company
“Prestige is harmful to organizations in that it draws attention to their potential hypocrisy. These companies are supposed to be standout examples of virtue in their industries or examples of how companies should behave. It makes them high-profile targets,” King writes. However, there are plenty of benefits to the prestigious title, much of which may be considered unfair.
When it comes to business, wrongfulness isn’t often attributed to the same company, even in the case of repeat offenses. Working with Mary-Hunter McDonnell, Kellogg Ph.D. graduate, the research found that “juries don’t make the same character attributions to chronically deviant organizations. They think about organizations differently.”
You can read more about the research here.
Employers Rank DePaul MS in Taxation Highly – Kellstadt News and Events
For the second consecutive year, TaxTalent has ranked DePaul’s Master of Science in Taxation degree third overall as part of its 2018 Top in Tax Educational Survey. MST assistant director Diane Kuhlmann believes that what sets DePaul’s degree apart from the pack is its combination of theoretical and practical pedagogy. Alumnus Ben Ulman ’17 raved about his experiences as part the MST program:
“The program has given me a pretty wide tax skillset. Tax is ever-changing and the program taught me what is current with laws and regulations. The best part of the program for me was the professors’ knowledge of taxation and the network you build from class.”
Learn more about DePaul’s MST degree here.
Making Financial Decisions: The Endowment Effect – MD Mag
Famed Chicago Booth professor Richard Thaler, the winner of the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his esteemed work in behavioral economics, explained in his 1991 research “The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias” (alongside Daniel Kahneman and Jack L. Knetsch) about the particular habits consumers have when valuing their own items. Simply put, if you own something, you tend to put a higher value on in than if you don’t.
This internal methodology often finds itself in daily financial situations, such as buying or selling a house, according to Shirley M. Mueller, MD.
“Although economists originally hypothesized that the endowment effect occurred because humans are loss-averse, new evidence suggests there is an additional reason under specific circumstances. We identify with something that is ours.”
Read more about the endowment effort phenomena and a unique student experiment here.
U.S. News Reveals Sneak Peek of Its 2019 Business School Rankings
With just over a week before U.S. News & World Report reveals its eagerly-anticipated 2019 best business school rankings, the publication offered a sneak peek of the business schools that managed to earn spots within the top 10.
Unsurprisingly, the top 10 of the 2019 rankings resembles the publication’s 2018 edition, with nine out of the top 10 schools nearing the top of the annual list. The lone ranking variation from 2018 to 2019 will be the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, which came in 11th in the previous year.
The top ten business schools for the 2019 U.S. News rankings are as follows (unordered):
- The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
- Harvard Business School
- The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago
- The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
- The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan
- The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University
- The Sloan School of Management at MIT
- The Stanford Graduate School of Business
- University of California—Berkeley (Haas)
The one school left out of the newest rankings from the previous edition was the Yale School of Management.
The publication will release the full list of the 2019 best business school rankings will officially arrive on March 20, 2018. Stay tuned for more updates on the rankings on MetroMBA.
Our 5 Favorite MBA Podcasts Right Now
Clear Admit recently looked into some of the best business school podcasts out today. Take a look at a few of the premiere productions below.
Many business schools and MBA students have recently begun to produce podcasts, discussing the diverse range of student and graduate experiences as well as current trends and relevant topics in business. These podcasts are unique in that they provide a candid, first-person look at business school from those currently enrolled, allowing for an open platform to discuss business topics outside of the confines of the university. While this is a fairly new trend, there are several different podcasts out there for those who might be interested to learn more. We’ve assembled our five favorite MBA podcasts right now, and we’ll keep an eye out for new podcasts to highlight going forward.
Business Beyond Usual, by Ross Business School Students
One very cool MBA podcast on our radar is Business Beyond Usual, produced by students at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. The podcast tackles a variety of issues of interest to both prospective and current business school students. Recent episodes have delved into topics including:
- Is business education a waste of money?
- Do school rankings actually mean anything?
- If you want to make a difference in the world, is working for a consulting firm selling out?
The podcast describes itself as having no rules or moderators, so those looking for an unfiltered opinion on the MBA experience may be interested in what these Michigan students are doing. With more than 20 episodes in the series already, there’s a wealth of material already for this relatively new podcast. Business Beyond Usual is available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud.
Why CBS Podcast
Those looking for an Ivy League perspective may be interested in the Why CBS Podcast, a series for Columbia Business School hosted by Fahad Ahmed, a 2017 graduate of the program. Why CBS features interviews with students, faculty, and alumni who speak candidly about their MBA experience at Columbia, as well as the time leading up to the program and their lives and careers after graduation. Why CBS is currently available on the iTunes Store.
Wharton FinTech Podcast
MBA students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School have been producing their own podcast, FinTech, since 2015, one of the earliest examples of this fairly recent trend. Boasting a back catalog of almost 50 episodes, this prolific podcast focuses specifically on global financial services, featuring diverse perspectives from CEOs, investors, students, and researchers. This “informative and high caliber” podcast is well-liked by its listeners, offering “a great source of insight into the minds of the founders, investors, and leaders in financial technology,” according to one user review.
Berkeley-Haas Podcasts
While they do not produce a serial podcast like many others, UC Berkeley’s Haas School offers a variety of podcasts and webinars on its website, including several produced by the admissions staff that provide a wealth of information for prospective applicants. There’s a series on financing your MBA, another series of webinars featuring current students discussing the school’s various areas of emphasis, and a third three-part series by Stephanie Fujii, the former executive director of the full-time MBA program, focusing specifically on what the school looks for in its applicants and how best to prepare for your application process.
There’s also a Humans of Haas Podcast produced by students in the full-time MBA program, though most seem to have graduated last year and it’s unclear whether anyone has taken up the reins to continue the podcast going forward. But there are four episodes available on Soundcloud that are worth checking out if you want to get a feel for the school’s students and culture. Each episode focuses on a specific theme and their titles include “Love at Haas,” “Vets at Haas,” “The Politics of Hair,” and “But Where Are You Really From?”
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Podcast
Also of note is the Chicago Booth Podcast Series. This production interviews a variety of CEOs, faculty, and other experienced professionals on a wide array of topics related to current and historical trends in business and finance. Selected archived episodes are available to stream for free on the school website and include diverse topics such as gender and the pay gap, interviews with important historical figures in business, and research on fiscal and monetary legal policy.
These are just a few examples of the many podcasts out there being produced by students and graduates as well as more officially by the schools themselves. These types of podcasts offer a fresh alternative to the often noisy, polluted world of online business commentary and there’s likely a podcast out there devoted to almost any topic that a prospective or current MBA might be interested in learning about.
How to Ace These 5 MBA Interview Questions
Clear Admit recently explored 5 crucial interview questions you’ll need to know during the height of MBA interview season, based off the site’s in-depth interview guides and archives, which you can read below.
Interviews, interviews, interviews … it’s all anyone seems to be talking about these days, and with good reason. Harvard Business School, Michigan’s Ross School, Chicago Booth, NYU Stern, and UVA Darden are just some of the schools that have already or are in the process of sending out Round 2 interview invitations. Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan, and UPenn / Wharton are among those soon to come.
Instead of driving yourself crazy with worry, why not buckle down and perfect your answers to the questions you are most likely to be asked? To help you prepare, we’ve scoured our Interview Guides and Interview Archive to compile our very own list of five MBA interview questions you need to ace. These questions are among those that most often make their way into MBA admissions interviews at leading schools.
While the questions listed here are most commonly asked as part of blind interviews, they can certainly also come up in the course of non-blind interviews. In those cases, you’ll want to be prepared to go deeper into some of the specific experiences you shared in your application. (Check out our quick refresher on the difference between blind and non-blind interviews).
For detailed insights into each school’s interview process, the questions they ask, and how to tackle those questions, access Clear Admit’s Interview Guides.
5 MBA Admissions Interview Questions You Need to Ace
Walk me through your résumé.
The real trick with answering this open-ended question is to gauge how much detail is too much. Imposing a structure can help. “It’s best to err on the side of brevity,” says Alex Brown, who asked this very question of many hopeful Wharton applicants during his time working in admissions at the Philadelphia school. “Think of this résumé walk-through as simply laying the groundwork for deeper discussion of your background and accomplishments.” A good idea is to develop a two- to three-minute run-through, beginning with where you grew up and went to college, what you studied and perhaps something you enjoy outside of work. Then move into a concise overview of your work experience, beginning with your first job and continuing to present day, making sure to explain why you made the choices you did and what you learned in each major role. “This kind of high-level overview gives your interviewer the perfect opportunity to ask for more detail about specific points if she wants it,” Brown says. If you have a gap of three or more months due to unemployment or some other cause, you should be prepared to address it, Brown warns, although in a short résumé question as part of the interview, it may not come up.
What are your career goals?
With any luck, you will already have a well-honed response to this question, developed and refined as part of the process of writing your application essays. “If you are looking to shift industry or function, this is your chance to explain your reasoning and that you have carefully thought through what may be involved in successfully making the transition,” Brown says. Keep in mind why the adcom is asking this question, Brown suggests. “They want to know how focused you are on the MBA and whether you are in a position to take advantage of the resources business school offers or at risk of getting overwhelmed,” he says. Present a very clear post-MBA goal, Brown recommends. “Schools prefer to admit students who can explain exactly what kind of job they want to pursue beyond graduation and articulate how it will set them up to obtain their long-term career objectives,” he says. Schools are also looking, with this question, to see if your goals make sense and are feasible in light of your past experiences; are you able to articulate a clear path and plan?
Why X school?
Here, schools want to see if you have really done your research on their program and whether you are a good fit with their culture. So, do your research. “I recommend a three-pronged approach to make a truly compelling case for your interest in a given school,” Brown says. Start with academics, he says, naming specific courses and professors that you are interested in. “Remember, your interviewer wants to see that you have really researched the school.” Second, mention specific clubs, conferences and other special programs that will help position you for your career goals. “Even better, show how you would contribute to the school community, such as by organizing an event to share specific knowledge you bring with your future classmates,” Brown suggests. Third, show that you have a good understanding of the school’s community, culture, class size and location and have thought about how these fit with your personality, goals and background. “If you have visited campus or talked with current students or alumni—definitely say so, lead with this.” Brown stresses. “Beyond showing that you’ve invested time in getting to know the school, this also helps your interviewer have a mental picture of you on campus.” he says.
Give us an example of a time you took a leadership role.
The way interviewers ask this question can vary—sometimes you’ll be asked directly about your most notable leadership experience and other times you’ll be invited to describe your general leadership style. “It’s important to keep a few basic principles about leadership in mind,” Brown says. “A leader is someone who has a strong vision or point of view and is able to see things others are not,” he continues. A leader must also have excellent communication skills. Choose an example that demonstrates these points. An ideal leadership example will describe a time when you negotiated with and persuaded key stakeholders, such as clients or a supervisor, to buy into your vision and then delegated the work and managed colleagues or juniors. “If you encountered obstacles along the way, share how you dealt with them,” Brown says. “If possible, you should also show success through quantified results,” he adds. As important as a successful outcome is demonstrating how you drew on the help of others where necessary. “No one is successful on their own,” Brown says. Show that you understand that strong leadership means teamwork and playing well with others, he says.
Tell us about a time you failed.
As tempting as it may be to say that you’ve never failed at anything…that is not what that adcom is looking for here. “In fact, this is a favorite question for those who appear to be ‘rock stars’ on paper,” Brown says. But rock stars make mistakes, and having an example in your back pocket of a time things did not go according to plan can show humility as well as your capacity to learn and grow. “The best answer to this type of question ends with a more recent experience where you took the lesson you learned from the failure and put it into play, affecting a better outcome.” he says.
These five questions certainly don’t cover everything your interviewer is likely to ask you, but they do touch upon some of the things you’re most likely to be called upon to share as part of your MBA admissions interview. You can take some of the anxiety out of the interview process by giving each one some thought, drawing on some relevant experiences from your past, and practicing the responses you would give. Don’t practice too much so that you appear overly rehearsed—since it’s important to seem both authentic and genuine—but prepare enough so that you’ll be ready to truly put your best self forward.
Comparing The U.S. News Full-Time and Online MBA Rankings
When it comes to business school rankings, U.S. News & World Report issues one of the most comprehensive annual lists. The annual rankings includes separate lists for the “Best Business Schools” and the “Best Online MBA Programs,” but deciding which format is right for you can still be tricky. Continue reading…
Gear Up For These January MBA Deadlines
The next round of MBA admissions is swiftly approaching, with the eve of 2018 almost here. Time to mark those calendars!
New York City
The NYU Stern School of Business, Columbia Business School, and Rutgers Business School, Newark/New Brunswick are the big headliners when it comes to deadlines in the New York City metro in January.
The Forham University Gabelli School of Business, and the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management Online MBA program also have deadlines in the first weeks of the new year. Click here for more information on upcoming New York City metro deadlines.
The third round for application deadlines to Cornell’s Tech MBA on its new Roosevelt Island campus arrives January 10, 2018.
Los Angeles
The biggest Los Angeles metro business school institutions all have a slew of deadlines ready to pass within the first weeks of the new year, including the UCLA Anderson School of Management‘s full-time MBA, USC Marshall‘s part-time program, as well as the Claremont University Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management‘s part-time MBA.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Los Angeles metro here.
Toronto
Two Toronto metro schools have deadlines in early January, with the Ivey Business School full-time, Accelerated, and EMBA deadlines all falling on January 8, 2018. The second round deadline to the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management‘s full-time MBA also falls on January 8.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Toronto metro here.
Chicago
Two of the most prominent business schools in the entire Chicago metro—Chicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg—feature a bevy of full-time, part-time, and Evening MBA deadlines before January 10. As well, the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University’s full-time MBA for its annual spring intake arrives on January 15, 2018.
Just outside of the city, on the near border of Indiana, the Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business’ second round deadline for its full-time MBA program is set for January 9.
Get familiar with the coming deadlines in the Chicago metro here.
The second round of deadlines for the Northwestern Kellogg part-time and full-time MBA programs arrives on Jan. 10, 2018.
Boston
In Boston, the heart of America’s higher education, every January is a major month for several of the country’s most prominent MBA programs. Indeed, Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan, as well as the Questrom School of Business at Boston University, the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, and Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business all have MBA deadlines right at the beginning of the new year for various MBA programs.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Boston metro here.
For updated deadline information in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London, click here.
